February 14, 2008

India's poultry farmers in Assam want government to allay bird flu fears
 

The All Assam Poultry Farmers' Association (AAPFA) said over 50 thousand poultry farms are facing huge financial losses due to the government's ban of poultry imports.
 

AAPFA wants the government to come forward and allay unfounded fears regarding bird flu.

Rajib Sarmah, general secretary of AAPFA, said there is no unusual poultry death in Assam so they do not think there is any harm in the consumption of local poultry products. He added that the ban has caused a severe dip of poultry sales, as high as 70 percent, in the markets.

West Bengal's bird flu outbreak has affected Assam negatively, thus the association has brought in veterinary experts and agriculture scientists to assure the people that Assam is free from bird flu and so both chickens and eggs are safe to consume.

Adding more woes to Assam's poultry industry is the ban of feed imports, which experts said is unnecessary as there is no chance of bird flu spreading through feed items.

Association secretary Rajiv Sharma said Assam's chickens are dying due to feed shortage, not bird flu as it has been reported.